Receta Baking | 100% Whole Wheat Bread … airy and delicious!
“A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in. A minute to smile and an hour to weep in.
A pint of joy to a peck of trouble, And never a laugh but the moans come double.
And that is life.”
Paul Laurence Dunbar
100% Whole Wheat Bread. Couldn’t ask for anything more in a whole grain bread. This was my first 100% whole wheat bread experiment and I had my fingers crossed.
I had huge bowls of olive oil standing by for dunking just in case it was too dense to eat. Butter too. Impatiently tore one end off to look at the crumb. Was I relieved or what! Yay, airy bread!!
Nice moist crumb, airy bread and great aroma. We loved it. Loved it with butter too. Nothing like fresh warm bread and butter. It was great to mop up the cheesy paprika gravy of the mushroom chicken which was meant to be the star that day. Bread took centre stage instead!
As another first, I added some top of the milk cream {or malai} to the dough. I had some in the fridge. It was an idea I had picked up while speaking to Sangeeta on our trip to the vineyards at Baramati. I think that’s what clinched the crumb! And the extra water or hydration of course.
Since the dough is quite loose, I’d recommend kneading the dough in a processor. I did it in the Thermomix. It’s a stringy, sticky dough that gets a little more manageable after the first rise. Even more manageable after a slight rest in the fridge. Shape the dough with wet hands and you should be fine.
The aroma that filled the house had everyone following their nose to the kitchen. An impatient queue waited to ‘break bread‘! Inching forward to getting more whole grains into my bread, this is one journey I am loving! I made another batch of bread dough today.
Maybe will try a small fougasse with a portion of the dough tomorrow. Infinite possibilities, so much promise!
Recipe: 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Summary: Couldn’t ask for anything more in a whole grain bread.This was my first 100% whole wheat bread experiment and I had my fingers crossed. Nice moist crumb, airy bread and great aroma. We loved it. Loved it with butter too. Nothing like fresh warm bread and butter. Yield: 2 small loaves to serve 8.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 400g whole wheat flour {aata}
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 265ml lukewarm water
- 100g top of the milk cream {malai}
- 1t minced garlic {4-5 cloves}
- 1t red chili flakes
- 2t dried herbs
- 1 1/2 t salt
- Topping
- 1 tsp whole wheat flour to sprinkle on top
Method:
In the bowl of a standing mixer and add all the ingredients in the order mentioned.
Mix briefly, then knead for approx 3 minutes. This should result in a smooth yet sticky,stringy dough.
Turn the dough into an oiled bowl, turned over with damp hands to coat with oil.
Cover with cling wrap and leave in a warm place for about an hour to double.
Preheat the oven to 250C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Turn dough onto parchment paper and shape into loaf with damp hands. I tried to give it a few rolls as well. Sprinkle over with a little whole wheat flour and leave to rise for 20 minutes while the oven preheats.
Pop into a hot oven, reduce the temperature to 200C and bake for 35-45 minutes until cracked on top and hollow to sound when tapped underneath.
Remove to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: My oven uses only the bottom element for baking. Please keep an eye if your oven uses both the top and bottom elements so that the top doesn’t burn. I made 2 loaves {2/3rd dough first time to get a long loaf, and 1/3rd the second time for a round small loaf. You can slash the top with a fine bladed knife before you pop it into the oven if you like.
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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India